Awhile back, we did a deep dive into a couple of the interesting pepper varieties we were growing. Let’s do the same for tomatoes!
We do our tomato trials a bit differently than we do peppers. Basically, we grow a given type until we run out of seed and then we’ll usually change it out. We really only have one “regular” (Stupice) and even that’s subject to our whims. We try to have a balance of genetics from all over the world, with at least a variety or two entirely focused on looks and/or flavor.
We’ve told you all a bunch, but when we’re hunting new tomato varieties, we’re looking for specific growing characteristics. While “growing lists” are cool and all, we find them confining. In this case, Ginuwine checked all the boxes for us and we figured it was worth giving a shot.
For starters, it’s an F1 variety bred out of two classic heirlooms, Brandywine and the classic Italian Costoluto Genovese. It promised to be, and delivered upon, being a 70 day tomato that will fully fit within our growing season. It’s packed on remarkably well with excellent maturity rates in the greenhouse.
We noted our particular hybrid definitely took on a lot of the Costoluto Genovese. Those ribs are super unique among tomatoes, often only being seen across some of the most obscure Italian tomato genetics. We’ve been criticized for pursuing Italian classics in our subarctic growing, but as you can see, there is a method to the madness!
Flavor wise, this tomato is a banger. Brandywine’s are certainly one of the most favored slicers for tomato flavor among home growers. But, at 80-100 days, they’re just out of our reach. We like what the Costoluto Genevese does to shorten the the maturity time by a full a month, without necessarily sacrificing that Brandywine flavor. It’s been kind of a best of both worlds thing, really.
Our plants have seemed to handle our generally cooler evening temperatures without much difficulty. Unlike some varieties, we pretty much got full fruit set. It’s maturity tie has been racing other “well known” northern producers, too, telling us this variety will likely be with us for at least a few more years.
The only “bad” we’ve found is that we don’t think this is a particularly stable F1 type. We’ve had a few mutants of unusual size, almost like two tomatoes fusing together. (But also not that.) It hasn’t affected flavor, maturity or anything else though. We don’t always need perfect tomatoes, so we’re willing to tolerate some genetic instability to a certain degree.
This is certainly a tomato you’ll never find on “northern growing lists.” But, it’s exactly tomatoes like these why we preach about finding genetics (early maturity times, F1 types for added vigor, etc.) as it can really open your options up a lot.
